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The Bald Eagle Portraits page is a compilation portfolio containing 40 images from other pages
within the Eagles section, including some images which are not present on the other pages and
several portraits of an African Fish Eagle and a Steller’s Sea Eagle, the world’s heaviest raptor.
This page includes several detail crops taken directly from the master images
that illustrate image quality which can be expected when displayed at full-size.
Click an image to open a larger version.
Use your back button to return to this page.
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Raptor Section Index
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Raptors Collection where a Gallery can be selected.
Direct Links:
Eagles Red-Tailed Hawks Assorted Hawks
Owl and Harrier Falcons & Kites Osprey
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Bald Eagle 3384 M
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Bald Eagle 0394 M
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An adult Bald Eagle taken at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico (left), and in the
Angeles National Forest, near Angeles Crest Highway above Jet Propulsion Labs in LA, California.
All of the landscape (horizontal) large version images linked from the thumbnails are 1500 pixels wide.
Portrait (vertical) images are 1200 pixels tall (1290 pixels with title bar). Images designated with an “M”
in the shot number are 5:4 aspect ratio, 1500 x 1290 with a title bar, or 1500 x 1200 without a title bar.
Some of the portrait images are also designated as “M”, and are 1500 pixels tall (plus the title bar).
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Bald Eagle Yearling Juvenile X8956 M
A 1st year juvenile Bald Eagle watching a Starling in a tree over the marsh at Bosque del Apache.
Adult Bald Eagles are dark brown, with a white head and tail. The beak, feet and eyes are yellow,
and the unfeathered feet have short toes with long, needle-sharp talons. The rear talon is used to
pierce vital organs of prey as it is held immobile by the front talons. The juvenile Bald Eagle has
a dark head in its first year and mottled brown and white plumage. In the second year the crown
and throat lighten to a golden brown or gray, somewhat resembling the adult Golden Eagle. The
head and throat lighten further in the third year, and by its fourth year the juvenile head is nearly
white with a few brown patches. It is distinguishable from the adult by its mottled body feathers.
Juvenile Bald Eagles reach sexual maturity by the end of the fourth year or early in the fifth year.
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Bald Eagle 2nd Year Juvenile 3397 3399c
A second year juvenile Bald Eagle with the characteristic golden brown crown and throat feathers
sits in the same tree shown in the previous image (these two images were taken one year earlier).
Juvenile Bald Eagles look similar to adult Golden Eagles, except Golden Eagles have a smaller head with a
larger beak. Juvenile Bald Eagles have mottled plumage. The plumage of the Golden Eagle is unmottled and
redder brown, and Golden Eagles have a dark gray, black tipped beak versus the Bald Eagle’s yellow beak.
Juvenile Bald Eagles have a darker head and neck and a much smaller dark gray beak than Golden Eagles.
Golden Eagles are feathered down to their toes, while Bald Eagles have featherless lower legs and feet.
When in flight, a juvenile Bald Eagle can be differentiated from juvenile Golden Eagles by the tail color.
The tail of a juvenile Golden Eagle is white behind the feet, with a wide, dark terminal band at the end.
Images of 2nd year and 3rd year juvenile Bald Eagles in flight are on the Bosque del Apache page.
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Bald Eagle Molting Juvenile 3735 3747c
A late second year juvenile Bald Eagle molting into its third year plumage.
Note the extent of coverage and color of the golden brown feathers on the head.
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Bald Eagle Juvenile X2788
A fourth year juvenile Bald Eagle perched among a dense group of cones near the
top of a conifer alongside Silver Salmon Creek in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
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Bald Eagle Juvenile X3050c
I love the facial expression in this detail crop of a frontal portrait of a
fourth year juvenile Bald Eagle atop a conifer near Silver Salmon Creek.
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Bald Eagle Juvenile X3051c
A fourth year juvenile Bald Eagle atop a conifer near Silver Salmon Creek, Alaska.
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Bald Eagle Juvenile X3055 M
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Bald Eagle Juvenile X3057 M
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The image above left shows the entire scene as available in the images for purchase.
Above right is a resized detail crop of this 4th year juvenile taken at Silver Salmon Creek.
These images were taken in the early evening. The light varied as the sun passed behind clouds.
Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Raptors Collection where a Gallery can be selected.
Direct Links:
Eagles Red-Tailed Hawks Assorted Hawks
Owl and Harrier Falcons & Kites Osprey
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Bald Eagle X2782
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Bald Eagle X2781
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An adult Bald Eagle scans the area from a dead treetop
near Silver Salmon Creek in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
Silver Salmon Creek feeds into the coastal flats at Cook Inlet from Lake Clark National Park,
a four million acre wildlife preserve on the Alaska Peninsula 100 miles southwest of Anchorage.
1200 pound Alaskan Coastal Brown Bears feed on the sedge grasses and the spawning Salmon
which give the creek its name. The Salmon runs also attract a number of Bald Eagles to the area.
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Bald Eagle Takeoff Position X2783
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Bald Eagle Takeoff X2784
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A Bald Eagle assumes the US Postal Service position and takes off into
the brilliant blue Alaskan sky at mid-afternoon near Silver Salmon Creek.
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Bald Eagle at Sunrise X3629
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Bald Eagle at Sunrise X3640
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This is very likely the same Bald Eagle, taken three days later at sunrise while perched in the same tree.
Bald Eagles typically choose a perch near water which has unrestricted visibility allowing them to
scan the entire area for prey. They often select the top of a tree, but when perched below the treetop
they prefer trees with open structures that allow them to land and take off without restricting their wings.
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Bald Eagle X3757
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Bald Eagle X3759
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A Bald Eagle perched at the top of a conifer near Silver Salmon Creek, Alaska.
Bald Eagle X3765
Bald Eagles are Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus, meaning salt, eagle, white, head).
The word Bald derives from piebald, originally from the Old English bala (white patch or blaze)
and the Middle English ball with the suffix ed used to form an adjective from a noun. Thus the word
Bald in this context means white-headed. The National Bird of the USA, it appears on the Great Seal.
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Bald Eagle X3758 M
A 1200 x 1590 M-sized portrait of a Bald Eagle perched at the top of a
conifer near Silver Salmon Creek in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
Benjamin Franklin wrote to his daughter a year after the Great Seal was adopted in 1782, expressing
his disappointment that the Eagle had been chosen as the National Symbol, stating that Bald Eagles
did not make their living honestly. He considered them too lazy to fish for themselves, often stealing
fish from other birds. He also considered the Eagle a coward, as it could be chased off by the tiny
King Bird (a play on words: Americans had just chased the “King birds” (British) from the country
in the Revolutionary War). He considered the Wild Turkey a better choice for National Symbol.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Raptors Collection where a Gallery can be selected.
Direct Links:
Eagles Red-Tailed Hawks Assorted Hawks
Owl and Harrier Falcons & Kites Osprey
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Bald Eagle X3769c
A detail crop of an adult Bald Eagle perched atop a conifer
near Silver Salmon Creek in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
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Bald Eagle Takeoff Position X3782
The Bald Eagle assumes the takeoff position adopted as a logo by the US Postal Service.
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Bald Eagle Takeoff X3784c
A “head and shoulders” detail crop of the takeoff from image X3784.
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Bald Eagle Takeoff X3786c
A detail crop from the head back to the upper tail, taken from image X3786.
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Bald Eagle Takeoff X3791c
A “head and shoulders” detail crop of the takeoff from image X3791.
These detail crops taken directly from the master images illustrate
the image quality which can be expected when displayed at full-size.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Raptors Collection where a Gallery can be selected.
Direct Links:
Eagles Red-Tailed Hawks Assorted Hawks
Owl and Harrier Falcons & Kites Osprey
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Bald Eagle X3888 M
One of a series of portraits of a Bald Eagle taken at eye level at the mouth of Silver Salmon Creek, Alaska.
Most often, Bald Eagles perch high up in trees to allow them an unrestricted view of the area.
This was an unusual situation in which Eagle had perched at eye level on a stump at the edge
of a field of sedge grass on the beach where Silver Salmon Creek meets Cook Inlet, Alaska
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Bald Eagle X3890
The two subspecies of Bald Eagle are the only species of Eagle that live solely in North America,
and thus they are commonly referred to as the American Eagle. The two subspecies are divided by
geographical location, from 38 degrees N. latitude near San Francisco on the West Coast and a bit
further south on the East Coast at Cape Hatteras. Nearly half of the estimated 70,000 Bald Eagles
live in Alaska. This is the Washington Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus washingtoniensis),
the larger of the two subspecies. They winter further south, in Canada and the Northern US. The
nominate subspecies is smaller (Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus) and lives in the
Southern US, Baja California and Northern Mexico. They are normally permanent residents.
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Bald Eagle X3891
A close portrait of a Bald Eagle taken at eye level on a stump at the edge of a field
of sedge grass, where Silver Salmon Creek meets the beach at Cook Inlet, Alaska.
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Bald Eagle X3895 M
While there are a few places where Bald Eagles are used to people and can often be
seen up close at eye level, in the wild they are more often seen perched high in trees.
One place Eagles are seen close is Homer, Alaska, where for 30 years Jean Keene,
known as the “Eagle Lady”, fed up to 300 wild Bald Eagles daily on the Homer Spit.
Jean worked at a fish processing plant and brought home surplus fish scraps and
freezer-burned fish for her Eagles. It began in the late 1970s when she saw two on
the beach next to her motor home and offered them food. They returned each day,
and later brought some friends. The word spread throughout the “Eagle Network”,
and by the time 10 years had passed, over 200 eagles were coming to the Spit
each day to see Jean and get her fish and the occasional road-killed Moose
bits which Jean gathered. From December until April, Jean fed her Eagles.
She gained national attention through magazine, newspaper and other media
reports and was the subject of a 2004 book “The Eagle Lady”. She gained many
supporters, but her activities also caused controversy among some local residents
and environmentalists who were worried about the a number of Eagles becoming
too familiar with people. After her death in 2009, the city of Homer passed an
ordinance prohibiting the feeding of Eagles (delayed until Spring 2009 to
avoid starving those Eagles accustomed to meeting Jean at the Spit).
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Bald Eagle Takeoff Position X3897 M
A frontal portrait of the famous Bald Eagle takeoff position used by the US Postal Service.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Raptors Collection where a Gallery can be selected.
Direct Links:
Eagles Red-Tailed Hawks Assorted Hawks
Owl and Harrier Falcons & Kites Osprey
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Bald Eagle X6619
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Bald Eagle X6561
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Close portraits of a Bald Eagle at Bosque del Apache, taken at 500mm and 700mm.
Bald Eagles seen at Bosque del Apache are most often at significant distances.
This Bald Eagle perched in a tree near the Farm Loop offered a unique opportunity
for close portraits. I took a set of tight portraits at 500mm, 700mm and 850mm,
and have selected several of of these images for presentation on this page.
Bald Eagle X6548
A close portrait of a Bald Eagle, taken at 700mm while the Eagle was
perched in a tree near the Farm Loop at Bosque del Apache, New Mexico.
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Bald Eagle X6634
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Bald Eagle X6571
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Two close portraits taken at 850mm and 700mm respectively.
Bald Eagle Detail X6634 XLc
A 1500 x 1290 detail crop of image X6634 (taken at 1/200 second, 850mm).
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Bald Eagle X6662
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Bald Eagle X6592
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Two close portraits of a Bald Eagle taken at 700mm.
Notice the extreme flexibility of the neck of the Eagle.
Bald Eagle X6641 M
A 1000 x 1590 M-sized close portrait of a Bald Eagle, taken at
1/250 second, 850mm in February at Bosque del Apache, NM.
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Bald Eagle Detail X6611 XLc
A 960 x 1290 detail crop of image X6611 (taken at 1/500 second, 500mm).
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Raptors Collection where a Gallery can be selected.
Direct Links:
Eagles Red-Tailed Hawks Assorted Hawks
Owl and Harrier Falcons & Kites Osprey
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Bald Eagle HS1858
An adult Bald Eagle on the ground, taken in deep shade near sunset.
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Bald Eagle HS1996
Another portrait of an adult Bald Eagle on the ground, taken in deep shade near dusk.
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Golden Eagle 7571
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Golden Eagle 7577
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A late juvenile Golden Eagle, taken below Mount Ranier in Washington State.
Golden Eagles have a longer tail and a smaller head than Bald Eagles, with a
dark gray, black-tipped beak. They have a wingspan of up to 9 feet, larger than
the span of the typical large Northern Bald Eagle female at 8 feet, but they are
lighter than Bald Eagles in general. Golden Eagles primarily prey on mammals.
Steller’s Sea Eagle 6059
The Steller’s Sea Eagle, named after the German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller,
is the world’s most massive Eagle at 11 to 20 pounds. It is the largest of the Haliaeetus
Eagles (the genus containing Bald Eagles), and one of the largest of the Raptors. They
have an exceptionally large beak, and their skull is the largest of any Eagle. Generally
found on the Kamchatka Peninsula and other parts of Eastern Russia and Japan,
they occasionally migrate to Alaska and along the North American west coast.
They feed on fish, primarily hunting Salmon, Trout and Cod in shallow waters.
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African Fish Eagle HS6468
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African Fish Eagle HS6454
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The African Fish Eagle (also called the African Sea Eagle) is another white-headed Eagle with a white tail,
but unlike the Bald Eagle it has a snow-white breast and lives in sub-Saharan Africa instead of North America.
It has a yellow beak and cere (the soft structure housing the nostrils) with a hooked black tip. The featherless
face is yellow. It primarily feeds on fish, but will also take waterbirds, reptiles and other prey of opportunity.
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African Fish Eagle HS6463
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African Fish Eagle HS6374
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The African Fish Eagle is the National Bird of Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Sudan.
African Fish Eagle HS6455 M
A close portrait of the elegant African Fish Eagle, a sea eagle
common near freshwater lakes and rivers of sub-Saharan Africa.
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Raptor Portraits SXXL
A 1547 x 1200 version of the SXXL Composite (6511 x 5050).
Eagles and Hawks
Steller's Sea Eagle; Cooper's Hawk; Bald Eagle; Golden Eagle;
Dark Rufous Morph Red-Tail Juvenile; Intermediate Morph Red-Tail;
Light Morph Red-Tail Juvenile; Light Morph Ferruginous Hawk.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Raptors Collection where a Gallery can be selected.
Direct Links:
Eagles Red-Tailed Hawks Assorted Hawks
Owl and Harrier Falcons & Kites Osprey
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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Alaskan Eagles page
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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Bosque del Apache Eagles page
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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Brackendale and Yellowstone Eagles page
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Click the Display Composite above to return to the Raptors Index
(or use the navigation bars below to select another section or page)
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